


Amends

by RedLeaderfic



Category: World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Episode Tag, Kayfabe Compliant, M/M, Making Up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:01:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26055382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedLeaderfic/pseuds/RedLeaderfic
Summary: Two days before his match to become double champion Keith Lee spots Dominik Dijakovic in the Performance Center parking lot.
Relationships: Dominik Dijakovic/Keith Lee
Comments: 4
Kudos: 16
Collections: Extreme Deadline Exchange '20





	Amends

**Author's Note:**

  * For [chasesstarlight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/chasesstarlight/gifts).



Keith had just about stepped into the Performance Center when he spotted a very familiar silhouette sitting on the curb at the edge of the parking lot and paused. He tapped one finger against the open door, then instead of continuing inside he let the door close and made his way over, sitting himself down next to a Dominik Dijakovic who didn’t so much as look over at him. Keith supposed that would figure, if this were going to be easy it would probably have happened weeks ago. “Feels like forever since I’ve seen you around here.”

Dijakovic shrugged, still looking carefully ahead at a bush in the middle distance. “The trainers have us on different schedules, you know how it is.”

“Of course, of course, can’t be too careful.” He knew Dijakovic well enough to tell how hard he was fighting not to look at Keith and wondered just how long he could keep that up if pressed. “Been hearing a lot of rumors about you in your long absence,” Keith said, making a point of also staring ahead at that bush. If Dijakovic wanted to play this game, fine, Keith Lee was damned if he wouldn’t match him.

“Oh, yeah? Good or bad?”

Keith let out a long breath through his teeth, trying to consider his answer. “Depends on your perspective, I suppose,” he finally said. “Rumors about you moving up in the world.”

“How about that.”

Dominik Dijakovic might be the most stubborn human being he had ever met. “Would have preferred hearing it from you.”

Dijakovic shrugged again. “Nothing to hear. Just people talking.”

“And how do you feel about all those people talking?”

“I mean, a change of scene might do me some good. It’s not like NXT has been working out so great for me lately.”

Keith bit his lip. He always hated being the first one to break, he was a stubborn man himself but he didn’t see much choice with this particular matter. “How long are we going to let this all fester between us?” he said, keeping his voice low.

“Don’t know what you mean,” Dijakovic said, which was such a blatant lie that Keith came within a breath of wheeling around and shaking him. 

But he kept his composure. “You do.” He let several long seconds slide by with no reaction. “I apologized. I don’t know what else you want.”

“I didn’t want an apology, I wanted....” He let out a long, shaky breath, which at least was a change from steely-eyed denial. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m the one who messed up. Everything you’d said in the ring after Takeover, I clearly thought it meant something that it didn’t.”

“I meant every word I said, you know me better than that.”

“You didn’t trust me.” And there it was. “It would be one thing if you hadn’t known it was me, but you did. And I can’t even be mad really, you come up behind someone in the ring, especially if they’re holding a title, that’s what happens. Like I said, I’m the one who screwed up that night.”

“I do trust you. I trust you more than I have any other man in this business, possibly in my life, you have to know that.”

“Yeah, unless I’m standing right behind you.”

Someday Keith knew he would learn to hold his temper around Dijakovic but this was apparently today was not going to be his day. “You know, you’re right, I shouldn’t have apologized because I’m not sorry.” Keith thought he saw Dijakovic flinch but since he could only watch from the corner of his eye he couldn’t be sure. “Because no matter what you say now, someday that will be you creeping up behind me when I am not looking and me saying that is not a matter of trust, it is a matter of me crediting you with being every bit as competitive as I am.”

“That’s not how I want to win anything from you.”

“You say that now. Everyone says that at first and we have both been in this business long enough to know how that turns out.”

The bleak little smile on Dijakovic’s face made Keith wish he’d never spotted him and had just gone into the Performance Center after all. “See? It’s like I said. I’ll know better for next time.”

Keith closed his eyes. “I don’t know what you want me to say.”

“I don’t know why you think I want you to say anything.”

Keith let out a long, long breath. “Is this how it’s going to be from now on?”

Dijakovic was drumming his fingers against his knee and Keith wondered if he realized it. “What do you want from me, Lee? My ride’s gonna be here soon.”

“I have a very big match coming up,” he said, as if Dijakovic could possibly not know that. “The biggest one of my life, possibly. It would mean a lot---” Keith cut himself off, apparently there were some words that weren’t going to let themselves be said today. “I was wondering if you were going to be there watching.”

“I don’t make a habit of watching title matches I’m not in, you know that.”

Keith nodded, ignoring how his chest felt like it was gripped in a vise. “I suppose I do. All right then.” And with that he heaved himself up and made his way back to the PC. He thought Dijakovic might have finally turned to look at him as he left but Keith wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of turning around to be sure.

Once inside Keith threw his gear bag to the ground and sat so heavily on the bench that he heard the wood crack. He stopped halfway through lacing his boots and replayed the conversation, trying to figure out what he could have said differently. Replayed the last few months and what he could have done differently. By the time he broke out of that spell he looked at the clock and saw that more than an hour had gone by and he’d missed his training window; he shook his head and repacked his things, staring at his reflection in the wall mirror for a long, long time before making himself leave.

Dijakovic was gone and Keith stood on the curb for a few minutes, wondering what he would have said if if he hadn’t been.

***

Keith stood at the top of the ramp and looked back at the confetti-filled ring, his freshly won titles heavy on his shoulders. He sensed – he _felt_ – someone come up from behind him, someone big. His adrenaline spiked and his exhausted muscles tensed for one more fight but in that split second of his conscious mind catching up Keith _knew_. He knew that was somehow that was Dijakovic coming up behind him because he knew the man, knew his footstep, knew his shadow, and Keith quieted every screaming instinct he had to ready a counter. He let out a breath and forced himself just to stand there. This time he would let whatever was going to happen, happen and damn the consequences.

That was all the time he got before Dijakovic jumped onto him, wrapping both arms around his neck in the tightest hug of Keith Lee’s life. “I knew it, I fucking _knew_ it,” he said right into Keith’s ear and Keith felt his heart swell so much he worried for a moment that his chest wouldn’t contain it. He would never admit it but looking up at Dijakovic felt even better than the moment when he’d realized the ref had counted three.

The next few minutes flew by in a blur; at some point Dijakovic hopped back up on his shoulders and Keith couldn’t get over how well over two hundred pounds felt like nothing. He managed to get all of his well wishers to give them some space and once they were alone put he Dijakovic against the hallway wall. “ _Someone_ told me that you wouldn’t be here for this.”

“Oh, c’mon,” Dijakovic scoffed. “Did you really think I could miss it?” He shook his head, giant smile on his face. “I wanted to miss it. I did, I really did but I knew you would do it. I mean, everyone knew so I had to. Like I had no choice. I had to be here. I just, y’know, hid a little bit so you wouldn’t know.”

“Those must have been some boxes you found to duck into.”

“Yeah, it took some doing, I’ll tell you that much.” He laughed, a genuine, joy-filled laugh and Keith promised himself that when Dijakovic won his first big title here that he would try with everything he had to be this purely happy for him, even if Keith was the one he pinned for it. “Fuck, look at you,” Dijakovic said, tapping the faceplates of both titles. “Look at that. It looks good on you.”

“Indeed it does,” Keith said, straightening out the belts. “So how did you also know that I wouldn’t drop you on your head when you jumped on me?”

“I, uh.” He shrugged, helplessly. “I hoped?” Dijakovic had a way of looking very young and guileless sometimes, far more than his size and build should allow, and it never ceased to stop Keith in his tracks. Dijakovic shook his head again. “I know the past few weeks have been…I wanted to say something a long time ago but I couldn’t figure out what. I was just upset, and I didn’t want to be but I couldn’t let it go. And I know you’re probably right about everything, about what you said but....”

As much as he could listen to Dijakovic ramble on all night Keith had other plans; Keith pulled him down into a kiss and felt all of the tension melt into instant relief. “Enough of that,” Keith said; Dijakovic just nodded, leaning almost all of his weight against Keith like he suddenly didn’t trust his legs to hold him up. “Let later worry about itself, tonight we have a victory to celebrate.”

“Missed this,” Dijakovic said, and Keith heard the unspoken _Missed you_. He could certainly return the feeling. 

Keith kissed him again, as slow as he could to make the moment last. “Let’s get to our celebration. And I do not want you out of my sight for the entire night, do you understand me?” Keith said, poking one finger into Dijakovic’s chest.

“Yeah. Yeah, I can live with that,” he said, that big smile back on his face.

“Oh, I was not giving you a choice in the matter,” Keith said. Dijakovic laughed, leaning his forehead against Keith’s forehead and his arms against the titles on Keith’s shoulders. “But maybe we can hold off for just a few more minutes.”

“Yeah,” Dijakovic said again. “I can definitely live with that too.”


End file.
